Month: June 2016

Holding today 09/06/2016 in Ndop and presided over by His Lordship Achu Francis, the court of first instance Ndop examined a case pitting the people of Cameroon versus Wasum Augustine (Mayor Balikumbat Council) and five others concerning the disappearance of a certain 14 year old girl by name Iyeh Temdika Precious sometime last June 2015 and passed a judgment per suit No: CFIND/20C/2015 condemning the act with respect to section 353 of the penal code.

According to the judgment, Wasum Augustine, Bodga Maxwell, Sama Gilbert, Pedkungha Hoseni Wasum and Tahnfon Simon Talam have been sentenced to 8 years and charged a fine of 400.000FCFA each with a civil party claim of 30.000.000FCFA and a proceedings cost of 238.200FCFA while one other Yenyi Divine who is on the run was sentenced to nine (9) years in prison and a warrant of arrest issued for him.

The said girl disappeared in June 2015 and have not been seen till date. She is a daughter to one of the councilors of Balikumbat Council by name Nwanyek Philip and is said to have been a close friend to the Mayor. The victims have 10 days to appeal before the North West Court of Appeal if they are dissatisfied with the judgment.

By Mbah Isofa

ngoketunjiaonline: when it happens in Ngoketunjia, we know it and when we know it you know it and of course we know it because we are ngoketunjiaonline.

FON CHAFFAH XI PICTURED ARRIVING FOR THE INSTALLATION OF NEW BABESSI DIVISIONAL OFFICER

Prolonged chieftaincy crisis in Bangolan have today been discontinued by the court of first instance in Ndop. According to the court, both parties requested for the problem to be discontinued and suspended. Both parties will now have to sit down and chat a way forward.
It should be recalled that chieftaincy crisis started in Bangolan when some villagers allegedly dethroned their traditional ruler, Fon Chaffah XI mid February 2016 and enthroned another Fon. This, administratively was not accepted and it went against the will of the alleged perpetrators.
Things came to a head when an administrative team to broker peace in the village was intercepted and properties looted. Gun shots were reportedly exchanged on March 19 “when angry villagers besieged the palace demanding the Fon to leave”. Eye witnesses recounted that five people sustained bullet wounds with no death reported.
Fon. Chaffah XI was accused by his villagers for “embracing western religion and giving his life to Christ”. They also complained of him reportedly setting on fire some artifacts, antiquities amongst others, which they said were the symbol of Bangolan tradition.
The angry locals staged a sit in protest at the North West Governor’s office February 24, 2016 and were instead told to return to the SDO for Ngoketunjia. The angry locals also demanded an end to arrests and torture form soldiers deployed to the area.
The English man says all is well that ends well, Bangolan people now have to solve their problems as the court has discontinued the case advising both parties to meet the administration.
The court ruling met jubilating villagers who started shouting and dancing right in front of the court.

According to Wikipedia glossary, Politics is the process of making uniform decisions applying to all members of a group. More narrowly, it refers to achieving and exercising positions of governance, organized control over a human community, particularly a state.

A politician is thus one who is actively involved in politics or one who holds or seeks a political office. In Cameroon and Ngoketunjia division in particular, we are used to seasonal politicians. People who are seen only during the process of choosing someone for an elective position.

A fortnight ago a reporter referred to politics in Ngoketunjia being reduced to a Njingum Musa affair. Whether or not politics can be an individual’s affair, the hidden truth about Ngoketunjia is that Hon. Njingum Musa is politically more active than any other individual.

Take him as a case study, observe his activities and ask yourself from the bottom of your heart without party leanings what else is needed of a politician of his standards. He is people’s representative or more commonly a parliamentarian. As a parliamentarian he has the mandate to represent the people of Ngoketunjia North Constituency in the national assembly. Something he has been doing diligently and his contributions were recently rewarded by members of the national assembly who unanimously elected him to the position of a “Questor” having the rang and prerogatives of a minister.

Back home, he has to support community development projects, rally his people to obey state institutions, to educate his people on changes to the law of the land among others. Taking support to community development projects or call it micro projects, this is an area where politicians especially parliamentarians have always had problems with their people. In the case of Hon Njingum Musa, the doctor is instead looking for patients, something that would have been the other way round.

Take for example, he recently paid visits to mosques within his constituency, ensuring that the prayer grounds are constructed to dignifying standards. Here, he donated bags of cement, plywood, corrugated iron sheets (zinc), financial assistance just to name a few. Then came the visit to schools both primary and secondary schools where he saw for himself development projects he supported, the case of G.S Mbonkwo Kake.

Bambalang village was without a ceremonial ground for some years and the Member of Parliament sponsor with a “twinkle of an eye” the construction of a ceremonial ground that today serves as the main playing ground in the village.

To the youths, the Member of Parliament organized a football tournament for peace, love and unity. A tournament that culminated with the visit of His Excellency the minister of sports and physical education Bidung Mpatt. This tournament, the Member of Parliament said in his words was for Ngoketunjia division and not only his constituency. It ended that not only youths in Ndop central and Babessi participated but youths from Balikumbat Sub Division also had a taste of his largess. During the semifinals that took place at Balikumbat ceremonial ground, indigenes came out and sang songs with praises to someone they have always been hearing about his good works.

These activities are just few among numerous activities he has undertaken within the past months. During Labour Day 1st of May like international women’s day on the 8th of March, the Member of Parliament had a communion with all groups that registered for match past. If a good politician is someone who does good work then what else do we need? This question and many others are being asked and Hon. Njingum Musa’s activities have gone beyond that of the people’s representatives. For if not, what does he want? There are no elections now, his party, the CPDM is without doubt the most popular party in our Division where people feel proud to identify themselves with the party, the case here wherein all the three councils, two parliamentary seats and a senatorial position are all occupied by CPDM representatives.

In the book Hardball, Chris Mathews does an outstanding job of explaining what good and bad politics and politicians are, as well as how to get there or avoid it. Even though they are his thoughts, every right thinking person will see that a good politician should be someone who is concerned with the well-being of his people and knows how to help them overcome their challenges.

In our case Hon. Njingum Musa is not only concern with the well-being of his people, but he leads the problem solving chain. This is seen through the number of people who identify themselves with him calling him “daddy or papa Musa”. To them, they don’t see him as a politician rather they see him as a father. His activities are not only lauded by his party comrades but by a cross section of non-militants.

This write up is not saying that Hon. Njingum is perfect but rather recognizing like any development oriented person, his efforts towards the amelioration of the living standards of people who are in need. Critics hold that it is a matter of time and thus only time will tell whether it is truly for the well-being of people or for personal aggrandizement. These critics should not also forget in a hurry that there is a popular believe that, “the more people talk positively about you, the more God’s blessings will be showered on you and your heart desires granted”.

His ingenuity in politics has earned him several awards from several media organs notably, The Watchdog Tribune, World Echoes, The Guardian Post, Life Time and most recently The Eye Newspaper where he was voted as Best Politician of The Year

Whether it is for the amelioration of the living condition of the people or not, observers hold that such a largess have never existed in Ngoketunjia division since the arrival of multiparty politics.

By Mbah Isofa

ngoketunjiaonline: when it happens in Ngoketunjia, we know it and when we know it, you know it and of course we know it because we are ngoketunjiaonline and we stand for the development of our division

The inauguration ceremony brought together members of the traditional council in Bambalang, inhabitants of Bambalang village, friends of care center from within the village and out of the village. In his welcome speech, Dr. Mbachiokie Richard revealed that care center has as mission to take care of the whole man, taking care of the body, soul and spirit. According to the medical practitioner, care center has a vision to see people receive health care and pay little or nothing. The occasion offered men of God an opportunity to spread the good news. Pastor Shanui Noveter of Baptist Church Bambalang drew inspirations from the book of Corinthians I chapter 8 verse 6 and thrilled participants with a special message in which he observed that despite latest machines, death rate is still on the rise. The man of God challenged attendees to pay tribute to the creator and maker of all things. Speaking passionately, a zealous pastor Shanui Noveter said despite the acquisition of an echography machine and other machines by care center, the healer remains God Almighty whose mercy could be sought through his son Jesus Christ. The inauguration ceremony also gave care center an opportunity to present a statistics of its activities some 11 months after opening its doors. Care center will be remember after coming to lamplight just few months after opening its doors with the successful operation of conjoint twins which we reported (https://ngoketunjiaonline.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/conjoint-twins-delivered-in-bambalang-ngoketunjia-division-of-the-north-west-region). Care center offer Laboratory services, surgery, mother and child care, dentistry, general consultations, blood transfusion, vaccination, high blood pressure clinic, diabetic clinic, epilepsy clinic, pharmacy with quality drugs, with the introduction of the echography services among others. People took the ceremony as an opportunity to give testimonies of their experience with care center clinic. “if not of care center I would have been history by now, I went to many hospitals and no problem was identified with me but when I came to care center my situation changed for better and my problem identified”.

With the inauguration of the ultrasound machine, friends of care center have some expectations, “We expect that it will help poor people to have precise diagnoses, something that initially was only possible far away from the village with inhabitants having to pay huge sums of money and braving the poor roads”. Rev. A.P Fomukong. It should be recalled that ultra sound is safe and painless and produces pictures of the inside of the body using sound waves. Ultrasound imaging, also called ultrasound scanning or sonography, involves the use of a small transducer or probe and ultrasound gel placed directly on the skin. High frequency sound waves are transmitted from the probe through the gel into the body. The transducer collects the sounds that bounce back and a computer then uses those sound waves to create an image. Ultrasound examinations do not use ionizing radiation as used in x-rays thus there is no radiation exposure to the patient. Because ultrasound images are capture in real-time, they can show the structure and movement of the body’s internal organs, as well as blood flowing through blood vessels. Ultrasound examinations can help to diagnose a variety of conditions and to assess organ damage following illness. Ultrasound is used to help medical practitioners evaluate symptoms such as pain, swelling and infection. Ultrasound is a useful way of examining many of the body’s internal organs, including but not limited to the heart and blood vessels, including the abdominal aorta and its major branches, the liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, uterus, ovaries and unborn child (fetus) in pregnant women, eyes, thyroid and parathyroid glands, scrotum (testicles), brain in infants, hips in infants among many others.

At the end of the ceremony, Dr. Mbachokie Richard revealed that henceforth care center shall assist parents to acquire birth certificates for their newborn babies upon delivery, treatment of snake bites free of charge using a specific machine, run a health insurance policy that will permit people have health care even without a franc. These innovations according to the ever smiling and welcoming experienced medical doctor are steps in a direction to see care center attain its vision, that of people having quality health after paying little or nothing. The echography machine goes operational immediately.

Workers had time to shake their bodies and give praise to God Almighty through the voice of Sis. Odette Nditafon in her musical album “I am Favored”

Front view of care center clinic Bambalang

By Mbah Isofa

ngoketunjiaonline: when it happens in Ngoketunjia, we know it and when we know it, you know it and off course we know it because we are ngoketunjiaonilne